


First Duet

by HowAboutThatSnapback



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Light Angst, Piano Pines Au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 12:24:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7532659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HowAboutThatSnapback/pseuds/HowAboutThatSnapback
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stanford wakes up one night to find his brother playing piano.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Duet

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Gravity Falls or it's characters nor the compositions linked on the bottom.

Ford was a light sleeper so when he heard the piano being played in the middle of the night he was wide awake without hesitation

He sat up and listened carefully.

The melody was haunting and bore a heaviness to it that he could only describe as sadness… _hopelessness_.

This most definitely was _not_  an illusion.

He pulled on his boots and grabbed his gun, slowly making his way down to the piano. He was sure that this house was not haunted, but he couldn’t be too sure about anything at the moment.

Without any hesitation he made his way down to the stairs toward the room he knew the grand piano would be- the source of the noise.

As he made it to the bottom of the stairs there was a bitter tone added- almost angry. It picked up tempo and left his entire body was tense with energy. Perhaps the apparition sensed his presence and was angered by it?

He avoided every creaking floorboard the closer he got and he peeked inside to see his brother sitting on the bench playing. He had a stormy look on his face as if he were thinking of something unsavory.

Ford’s posture loosened a little and he felt curiosity prick at him. He was tempted to go closer, but he decided to observe from afar.

His brother’s features softened, but he didn’t pause as his shoulders relaxed from their previous tense position and he began playing something closer to hopeful and merry.

Ford had seen that look only once before recently… the one he had when he was carrying the twins to bed.

He figured he must be thinking about them- their smiles, their laughter, everything that made them the children they are. Ford had only known them a short amount of time- especially compared to Stan- but he couldn’t help but love them with all his heart.

A melancholic tone filled the air- it was strong and powerful, but still held a note of hope. The tone became more merry with only a darker undertone and Stan seemed to be content. It seemed to fit- Stan being the darker tone while the twins were the light of his life…

Kind of like they’d become Ford’s own…

As the last notes hung in the air, Ford felt like he’d heard part of his brother’s very soul- as if it were laid out bare in front of him.

“You can come out now, I know you’re there,” Stan called quietly.

Ford blinked in surprise- he hadn’t realized that he was aware of his presence.

With a little hesitation he stepped into the room. When Stan looked up he seemed a bit surprised about _who_  he had found.

 _He probably thought I was one of the kids,_  Ford rationalized.

“That was… that was beautiful,” Ford said awkwardly.

Stan grunted and looked away, playing what sounded very dark to him.

Ford walked forward until he was standing next to his brother. “Do you mind if we make this a duet?”

Stan’s eyes looked up at his brother and he sighed. “Fine, do what you want.”

He kept playing what seemed to be a nameless tune with his left hand and seemed to have been offering his brother a chance to become his other half- his right hand man.

Ford took a deep breath and placed the fingers of his right hand on the keys. He had no idea what he wanted to play until he played strong notes with both hands.

Immediately his fingers began to dance across the keys and his brother’s right hand came down and he played with his left hand. The rapid pace of the music felt right.

At several points they would play with both hands, but they would return to one hand each as soon as they could.

His brother’s playing- while looking more controlled with only shifting his hands a few times for a few parts- was just as angry and frantic as his own playing. They weren’t playing some piece that they’d heard, they played what felt right and it came out beautifully eccentric.

There was deep rooted anger and resentment- they blamed each other for their situations. If he hadn’t broke the project and if he had stood up for him… there were a lot of ifs in this silent argument.

As it reached a quieter, slower tone, they could _see_ each other for the first time for what felt like forever without even looking at each other. Two bitter old men trying to play with the cards that they’ve been dealt. Both had been through more than either was willing to talk about and they had a severed bond that they needed to fix.

But they were Pines men. They didn’t like talking very much- they preferred other methods of speaking so the tempo went up and they put all of their attention into this and trying to understand each other through  the music.

They worked seamlessly together- even when their hands where mere _centimeters_ apart, they played flawlessly together as if they’d been doing it all of their lives instead of it being their first time.

As the song drew to a close they were panting a little from the excitement that came with this wild duet.

Their souls were stripped of the layers that they had put up to prevent anyone from getting too close and they looked at each other for a long time with silence hanging heavily in the air.

Stan cleared his throat and looked away first. “That was- uh-”

The man with the silver tongue was having trouble with his words. How ironic.

“Yeah,” Ford said to relieve his brother of looking for the word. He knew what he meant- he felt it too.

Stan got up and started toward the door, but he paused and looked back at his brother. “Hey- uh- you should probably get some sleep…”

“We both should,” Ford said and then closed the piano.

Stan looked like he wanted to say something else, but he let out a breath and walked out.

While that was very helpful… even a song can only do so much.

**Author's Note:**

> Links:  
> First Composition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqlB2E0mZkQ  
> Second Composition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUeeKZeGOz0


End file.
